I am grateful to Yad Vashem and all of those responsible for this remarkable institution. At a time of great peril and promise, war and strife, we are blessed to have such a powerful reminder of man’s potential for great evil, but also our own capacity to rise up from tragedy and remake our world. Let our children come here, and know their history, so that they can add their voices to proclaim ‘never again.’ And may we remember those who perished, not only as victims, but also as individuals who hoped and loved and dreamed like us, and who have become symbols of the human spirit.”

Trump was more succinct:

It is a great honor to be here with all of my friends—so amazing & will Never Forget!

Now, I actually agree with the gist of what this meme says. What then-Senator Obama wrote was the kind of stuff that might go into history books.1 What President Trump wrote is not. It was written for the people showing him the memorial, not for later visitors.

If that sense of historical importance is what you want in your politicians—and it is reasonable that many people do—you are going to be disappointed by President Trump.

But my initial reaction on seeing that meme was not how great Obama’s side of the meme was. It was that the poster, who had until then been reliably anti-Trump even when Trump agreed with him, had come around to seeing Trump favorably.

My initial reaction on seeing this was favorable to Trump. Because where Trump’s note differed from Obama’s is that Trump was personal and humble. His note was filled with a feeling of both honor for what an actual person did to show him something he hadn’t seen; and humility for how much has been sacrificed.2

Trump left a personal note, not one scripted by a team of writers, crafted to play well back home and through the years. It was genuine gratitude for his hosts—and humility.

It was authentic.

Many people do not want their politicians to pre-write every utterance; the desire for authenticity in politicians is also understandable. What Obama wrote was very much political-speak. It is filled with a sense of the writer’s historical significance. Trump’s is filled with humility at the significance of history.

What Trump wrote is very much what a human being who has friends and appreciates them would write.

To understand why this meme might actually look to be in Trump’s favor, why this attitude is appreciated in parts of the electorate, it may help to read some flyover novels. The comparison between these two statements brought to my mind a quote from Louis L’Amour’s Comstock Lode:

Folks can’t seem to realize that it isn’t a smooth talker we need in there but a steady man, a man with judgement. Any medicine-show man can spout words, if they are written for him. It takes no genius to sound well. To act right and at the right time is something else again. — Louis L’Amour (Comstock Lode)

I’m not writing this to diminish President Obama’s significance, nor even the words he wrote. It is understandable that people will appreciate soaring rhetoric and pride.

But it should also be understandable that people will appreciate simplicity and humility—especially when coming from someone like President Donald Trump.

In response to 2017 in Photos: For photos, memes, and perhaps other quick notes sent from my mobile device or written on the fly during 2017.

To ensure that it would go down in history correctly, Senator Obama made sure to annotate his statement with the current date.

I am very aware that seeing humility in something Donald Trump wrote will come as a surprise to many. It came as one to me when I saw the Vox meme. That’s why I was surprised a loudly anti-Trump person would post it.

“But I do respect the fact that he stood on a platform which he is now delivering. He is going to go down in history as being roundly condemned for being the only politician to deliver on his promises.”

Former President Barack Obama promises to tear down the barriers of hate, and end the divisions that plague shelters. “We will restore the Sanctuary’s image as the last, best hope for acceptance for all those touched by domestic violence.”

When you’ve dismantled every other defense, what’s left except the whining? The fact is, Democrats can easily defend against Trump over-using the power of the presidency. They don’t want to, because they want that power intact when they get someone in.

From Lincoln on, Democrats have accused Republicans of their own failings: hate speech, violence, madness. And the more the left recycles the same serpent’s lies they used against President Lincoln, the more the left turns Trump into the new Lincoln.

You know, the funny thing is, how lousy most of your lies are. You tell violent lies, you tell dirty lies, you tell scurrilous lies about conservative families. But most of your lies are not very good, are they? Funny that so many smart people can work so hard on lies, and spend all that money on them, and, what do you think it is? It must be the money. It turns everything to crap.

Lost?

The Nazi leader in charge of German physicians, Gerhard Wagner, led a campaign against alcoholic excess. People’s bodies did not primarily belong to them but to the state, and alcohol abuse both reduced national productivity and damaged the racial stock (he was especially concerned about the effects on pregnant women, though he believed smoking to be even more serious). — Geoffrey J. Giles